The hottest point guards in the NBA’s Western Conference are Deron Williams, 24, and Chris Paul, who turns 24 on Wednesday. Everybody says so.

So why will the two of them be watching the rest of the playoffs on television while Jason Kidd, 36, and Chauncey Billups, 32, face off in the conference semifinals beginning this afternoon?

“There aren’t many point guards under 30 (still) playing,” Nuggets coach George Karl said Saturday. “Derek Fisher and Chauncey and Jason are kind of proud, older, veteran guys, and they’re still pretty good when it counts. I think young players get a lot of attention, and most of it is earned, but some of it is given to them, in my opinion.”

Kidd and Billups have met in the playoffs twice before. In 2003, Kidd’s Nets swept Billups’ Pistons in the Eastern Conference finals. A year later, the Pistons returned the favor in a seven-game semifinal series.

“The big difference was I wasn’t hurt,” Billups said. “In ’03 I hurt my ankle in the series before that, and I just really couldn’t move. Not to say that they wouldn’t have beat us anyway, because they were the beasts of the East at that time. And then the next series, I was healthy. We were good. But shoot, our toughest series that championship year was that Jersey team.”

In those days, Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin ran with Kidd.

“It’s funny how people’s careers take different changes,” Martin said. “Me and J-Kidd thought we was going to have something great going out there in New Jersey, but they broke it up. He’s somewhere else now, I’m somewhere else, and we’re still fighting for the same thing.”

Kidd’s passes have been dropping jaws since at least his college days at Cal. The late Hunter S. Thompson used to send late-night faxes to the San Francisco Chronicle paying literary tribute to the teenage Kidd’s court vision.

“The best I’ve ever seen among guys that I’ve personally played against,” Billups said. “He’s just got a gift like that. That’s something that can’t be taught. You can’t really work on that. I don’t have that gift. I got good vision, but not like that.”

On the other hand, Kidd averaged just nine points a game this season, the lowest of his career. Billups averaged 17.9, the second-highest of his.

“I think both of us understand the importance of each game,” Kidd said. “I think being consistent in a series is a key. You can’t get up too high, you can’t get down on a loss. We all understand the big shots that he likes to take. So for each of us, I think our careers have gotten better, but he has the trophy that I want. I don’t care about the (Finals) MVP part, but the ring, that’s what we play for.”

Billups insists he has made no concessions to age so far. “I’m still in my prime,” he said. Kidd has clearly lost a step, but age hasn’t hurt his eyesight.

“Of course, he’s not going to run like he’s 25 anymore, but if you watch him play, he gets that ball up and down the court better than anybody in the league,” Martin said.

So don’t look for any sprint records from the point guards in the series. Don’t look for a lot of mistakes, either.

“These guys are winners,” Karl said. “They both orchestrate their teams. There are a lot of regular-season games where flash and flair can create a win, but flash and flair don’t win a lot of playoff games. Usually, the fundamentals and the guts and the dirty intensity and the old-school stuff win more than flash and flair.”

In fact, if the kids are paying attention, they just might learn something.

“If you’re a young player watching this series, watch the point-guard play,” said Mavs coach Rick Carlisle. “It’s two of the best in the game, two of the most experienced, and two contrasting styles. Both guys lead their teams. And both players have a great pulse of their teams. Both point guards in the series do the majority of the play-calling. So it’s going to be great to watch from the standpoint of point-guard play at its best.”

Ah, but cred with the kids is hard to come by. I asked J.R. Smith, 23, if Billups represents the young gun of this particular point-guard matchup. He looked at me like I was crazy.

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